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{{Infobox country | |||
| name = United States of America | | name = United States of America | ||
| image_flag = Flag of the United States.svg | | image_flag = Flag of the United States.svg | ||
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| empire = yes | | empire = yes | ||
| official_languages = English (de facto) | | official_languages = English (de facto) | ||
| demonym = Statesian | | demonym = Statesian<br>United Statesian<br>Yankee (pejorative)<br>American (common) | ||
| image_map_size = 220px | | image_map_size = 220px | ||
| image_map = USA orthographic.svg | | image_map = USA orthographic.svg | ||
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| native_name = ᏌᏊᎢᏳᎾᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎾᎿ ᎠᎺᏰᏟ<br>ʻAmelika Hui Pūʻia<br>Tannapta Nunaat Amiarikami<br>Mílahaŋska Tȟamákȟočhe<br>Wááshindoon Bikéyah Ałhidadiidzooígíí<br>Gichi-mookomaan-aki | | native_name = ᏌᏊᎢᏳᎾᎵᏍᏔᏅᏍᎦᏚᎩ ᎾᎿ ᎠᎺᏰᏟ<br>ʻAmelika Hui Pūʻia<br>Tannapta Nunaat Amiarikami<br>Mílahaŋska Tȟamákȟočhe<br>Wááshindoon Bikéyah Ałhidadiidzooígíí<br>Gichi-mookomaan-aki | ||
| leader_title3 = President of the Senate | | leader_title3 = President of the Senate | ||
| leader_name2 = [[ | | leader_name2 = [[Nancy Pelosi]] | ||
| leader_title2 = Speaker of the House | | leader_title2 = Speaker of the House | ||
| leader_name1 = [[Joe Biden]] | | leader_name1 = [[Joe Biden]] | ||
| leader_title1 = [[President of the United States of America|President]] | | leader_title1 = [[President of the United States of America|President]] | ||
| largest_city = [[New York City]] | | largest_city = [[New York City]] | ||
| image_coat = Coat of | | image_coat = Coat of Arms of the USA.webp | ||
| capital = [[Washington, D.C.]] | | capital = [[Washington, D.C.]] | ||
| government_type = Federal corporatocratic republic | | government_type = Federal corporatocratic republic | ||
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| established_date3 = August 21, 1959 | | established_date3 = August 21, 1959 | ||
}} | }} | ||
The '''United States of America''' ('''USA'''), commonly known as the '''United States''' ('''US'''), is the most influential [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[Capitalism|capitalist]] state in the world, accounting for 15% of global GDP (PPP)<ref>{{News citation|date=2021|title=United States' share of global gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP)|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/270267/united-states-share-of-global-gross-domestic-product-gdp/|newspaper=Statista|retrieved=2022-01-25}}</ref> and the highest military spending in the world, reaching more than 50% of global military spending.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Sara Flounders|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=Congressional chaos – deals and trades|date=2023-01|url=https://www.workers.org/2023/01/68509/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110165054/https://www.workers.org/2023/01/68509/|archive-date=2023-01-10|retrieved=2023-01-22}}</ref> It is the third most populous country in the world, with a population of more than 330 million people.<ref>{{News citation|date=2020|title=Population, total - United States|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=US|newspaper=World Bank|retrieved=2022-01-25}}</ref> The USA has only 5% of the world's population but 28% of global carbon dioxide emissions.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=Cyclone Freddy underscores inequalities – reparations for Africa!|date=2023-03-20|url=https://www.workers.org/2023/03/69956/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322201711/https://www.workers.org/2023/03/69956/|archive-date=2023-03-22|retrieved=2023-03-30}}</ref> | The '''United States of America''' ('''USA'''), commonly known as the '''United States''' ('''US'''), is the most influential [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[Capitalism|capitalist]] state in the world, accounting for 15% of global GDP (PPP),<ref>{{News citation|date=2021|title=United States' share of global gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for purchasing power parity (PPP)|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/270267/united-states-share-of-global-gross-domestic-product-gdp/|newspaper=Statista|retrieved=2022-01-25}}</ref> and the highest military spending in the world, reaching more than 50% of global military spending.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Sara Flounders|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=Congressional chaos – deals and trades|date=2023-01|url=https://www.workers.org/2023/01/68509/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110165054/https://www.workers.org/2023/01/68509/|archive-date=2023-01-10|retrieved=2023-01-22}}</ref> It is the third most populous country in the world, with a population of more than 330 million people.<ref>{{News citation|date=2020|title=Population, total - United States|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=US|newspaper=World Bank|retrieved=2022-01-25}}</ref> The USA has only 5% of the world's population but 28% of global carbon dioxide emissions.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=Cyclone Freddy underscores inequalities – reparations for Africa!|date=2023-03-20|url=https://www.workers.org/2023/03/69956/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230322201711/https://www.workers.org/2023/03/69956/|archive-date=2023-03-22|retrieved=2023-03-30}}</ref> | ||
A modern [[ | A modern [[American imperialism|empire]], the United States are at the center of a group of [[Imperial core|imperialist Western regimes]]. The USA is the leading country of many international imperialist organizations, such as the [[North Atlantic Treaty Organization]], [[Organization of American States]], [[The World Bank|World Bank]], [[International Monetary Fund]], [[National Endowment for Democracy]], [[Human Rights Watch]], and others. | ||
The pervasiveness of [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] ideology, the frequent relationship between government officials and corporate board of directors, the tendency for war, and the reach of [[Nationalism|nationalist]], [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] and [[Racism|racial chauvinist]] ideas makes the USA a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]] with traits of [[fascism]].<ref>Black Panther Party (1970) [https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/1970/dope.htm Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide] </ref><ref>Fred Hampton (1969) [https://www.marxists.org/archive/hampton/1969/11/class-struggle-godamnit.htm It’s a Class Struggle, Godamnit!]</ref><ref>Minju Joson (2016) [https://web.archive.org/web/20210528023946/https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/255411/minju-joson-on-final-doom-of-u-s/ Final Doom of U.S.]</ref> Wealth distribution is extremely unequal, with the richest three Statesians owning more than the poorest 160 million combined.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Noah Kirsch|newspaper=Forbes|title=The 3 Richest Americans Hold More Wealth Than Bottom 50% Of The Country, Study Finds|date=2017-11-09|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/?sh=7144ebfe3cf8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121000741/https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/?sh=3e972c243cf8|archive-date=2023-01-21|retrieved=2023-01-23}}</ref> | The pervasiveness of [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] ideology, the frequent relationship between government officials and corporate board of directors, the tendency for war, and the reach of [[Nationalism|nationalist]], [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] and [[Racism|racial chauvinist]] ideas makes the USA a [[dictatorship of the bourgeoisie]] with traits of [[fascism]].<ref>Black Panther Party (1970) [https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/workers/black-panthers/1970/dope.htm Capitalism Plus Dope Equals Genocide] </ref><ref>Fred Hampton (1969) [https://www.marxists.org/archive/hampton/1969/11/class-struggle-godamnit.htm It’s a Class Struggle, Godamnit!]</ref><ref>Minju Joson (2016) [https://web.archive.org/web/20210528023946/https://kcnawatch.org/newstream/255411/minju-joson-on-final-doom-of-u-s/ Final Doom of U.S.]</ref> Wealth distribution is extremely unequal, with the richest three Statesians owning more than the poorest 160 million combined.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Noah Kirsch|newspaper=Forbes|title=The 3 Richest Americans Hold More Wealth Than Bottom 50% Of The Country, Study Finds|date=2017-11-09|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/?sh=7144ebfe3cf8|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230121000741/https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2017/11/09/the-3-richest-americans-hold-more-wealth-than-bottom-50-of-country-study-finds/?sh=3e972c243cf8|archive-date=2023-01-21|retrieved=2023-01-23}}</ref> | ||
Beginning as a [[Settler colonialism|settler-colony]] of European maritime empires, the USA became an independent country in 1776. It has achieved remarkable economic, scientific and military development through the process of imperialism, where it uses military power to ensure access for its private industries to exploit the nations of the world. The United States deliberately killed over 11 million unarmed civilians in its imperialist wars and conquests | Beginning as a [[Settler colonialism|settler-colony]] of European maritime empires, the USA became an independent country in 1776. It has achieved remarkable economic, scientific and military development through the process of imperialism, where it uses military power to ensure access for its private industries to exploit the nations of the world. The United States has deliberately killed over 11 million unarmed civilians in its imperialist wars and conquests.<ref name=":6">{{Citation|author=Austin Murphy|year=2000|title=The Triumph of Evil|chapter=Introduction|section=|page=22–24, 34|pdf=https://mltheory.files.wordpress.com/2017/06/austin-murphy-the-triumph-of-evil.pdf|publisher=European Press Academic Publishing|isbn=8883980026}}</ref> | ||
Many of its methods of exploitation employed outwardly are also employed inwardly towards its own population with increasing intensity as its economy has been in steady decline since the [[Great Recession|2008 financial crisis]] and the [[COVID-19 pandemic|2020–2022 COVID-19 pandemic]]. | Many of its methods of exploitation employed outwardly are also employed inwardly towards its own population with increasing intensity as its economy has been in steady decline since the [[Great Recession|2008 financial crisis]] and the [[COVID-19 pandemic|2020–2022 COVID-19 pandemic]]. | ||
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== History == | == History == | ||
=== | === Pre–European colonization === | ||
{{Main article|History of humanity}} | {{Main article|History of humanity}} | ||
Human settlement in the [[America|Americas]] began between 12,500 to 27,000 years ago through different possible routes recognized by researchers. The most common and accepted theory is that humans crossed through land between Siberia and Alaska in the Beringia region at least 30,000 years ago,<ref>{{Citation|author=David J. Meltzer|year=2009|title=First peoples in a New World: colonizing Ice Age America|page=329|quote=The port of entry for America’s first peoples was the Bering Sea region. They could, and likely did, walk across from Siberia to Alaska when expanding continental ice sheets dropped sea levels worldwide and Beringia surfaced. Crossing its Mammoth Steppe, blanketed by parkland and grazed by mammoth, horse, and bison, was possible anytime between 27,000 and 10,000 years ago. The recent genetic evidence of a possible Beringian standstill suggests the first peoples may have been relatively isolated in this region for much of that time.|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Erika Tamm, et al|year=2007|title=Beringian Standstill and spread of Native American founders|title-url=https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000829#pone.0000829-Pitulko1|quote=The new data suggest that the initial founders of the Americas emerged from a single source ancestral population that evolved in isolation, likely in Beringia. This scenario is consistent with the unique pattern of diversity from autosomal locus D9S1120 of a private allele in high frequency and ubiquitous in the Americas. The finding that humans were present at the Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site dated to 30,000 ybp suggests that the isolation in Beringia might have lasted up to 15,000 years. Following this isolation, the initial founders of the Americas began rapidly populating the New World from North to South America.|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0000829}}</ref> when the sea levels were at a minimum, revealing a pathway which made possible to cross between the lands, and stayed there until at least 12,500 years ago,<ref>{{Citation|author=David J. Meltzer|year=2009|title=First peoples in a New World: colonizing Ice Age America|page=329|quote=In any case, it appears from the evidence at Monte Verde that the first Americans were here by at least 12,500 BP and possibly earlier still. Certainly by 11,500 BP, Clovis Paleoindians were widespread, possibly representing a second migratory pulse to the New World, one that may have spread across the continent in less than a thousand years.|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> when they went deep into American land. | Human settlement in the [[America|Americas]] began between 12,500 to 27,000 years ago through different possible routes recognized by researchers. The most common and accepted theory is that humans crossed through land between Siberia and Alaska in the Beringia region at least 30,000 years ago,<ref>{{Citation|author=David J. Meltzer|year=2009|title=First peoples in a New World: colonizing Ice Age America|page=329|quote=The port of entry for America’s first peoples was the Bering Sea region. They could, and likely did, walk across from Siberia to Alaska when expanding continental ice sheets dropped sea levels worldwide and Beringia surfaced. Crossing its Mammoth Steppe, blanketed by parkland and grazed by mammoth, horse, and bison, was possible anytime between 27,000 and 10,000 years ago. The recent genetic evidence of a possible Beringian standstill suggests the first peoples may have been relatively isolated in this region for much of that time.|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Erika Tamm, et al|year=2007|title=Beringian Standstill and spread of Native American founders|title-url=https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0000829#pone.0000829-Pitulko1|quote=The new data suggest that the initial founders of the Americas emerged from a single source ancestral population that evolved in isolation, likely in Beringia. This scenario is consistent with the unique pattern of diversity from autosomal locus D9S1120 of a private allele in high frequency and ubiquitous in the Americas. The finding that humans were present at the Yana Rhinoceros Horn Site dated to 30,000 ybp suggests that the isolation in Beringia might have lasted up to 15,000 years. Following this isolation, the initial founders of the Americas began rapidly populating the New World from North to South America.|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0000829}}</ref> when the sea levels were at a minimum, revealing a pathway which made possible to cross between the lands, and stayed there until at least 12,500 years ago,<ref>{{Citation|author=David J. Meltzer|year=2009|title=First peoples in a New World: colonizing Ice Age America|page=329|quote=In any case, it appears from the evidence at Monte Verde that the first Americans were here by at least 12,500 BP and possibly earlier still. Certainly by 11,500 BP, Clovis Paleoindians were widespread, possibly representing a second migratory pulse to the New World, one that may have spread across the continent in less than a thousand years.|publisher=University of California Press}}</ref> when they went deep into American land. | ||
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At the beginning of European colonization, most indigenous peoples lived in agricultural societies but others were hunters and gatherers.<ref name=":2">{{News citation|author=Dennis Etler|newspaper=[[CGTN]]|title=U.S. treatment of Native Americans is a gross human rights violation|date=2021-03-29|url=https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-26/U-S-treatment-of-Native-Americans-is-a-gross-human-rights-violation-YVtGCFbCJa/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219235353/https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-26/U-S-treatment-of-Native-Americans-is-a-gross-human-rights-violation-YVtGCFbCJa/index.html|archive-date=2022-02-19|retrieved=2022-07-01}}</ref> | At the beginning of European colonization, most indigenous peoples lived in agricultural societies but others were hunters and gatherers.<ref name=":2">{{News citation|author=Dennis Etler|newspaper=[[CGTN]]|title=U.S. treatment of Native Americans is a gross human rights violation|date=2021-03-29|url=https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-26/U-S-treatment-of-Native-Americans-is-a-gross-human-rights-violation-YVtGCFbCJa/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220219235353/https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-03-26/U-S-treatment-of-Native-Americans-is-a-gross-human-rights-violation-YVtGCFbCJa/index.html|archive-date=2022-02-19|retrieved=2022-07-01}}</ref> | ||
=== | ===Colonial period=== | ||
In the 17th century, settlers from Britain and Holland began to arrive in North America. Of 10,000 settlers who left from Bristol between 1654 and 1685, most were farmers and artisans and less than 15% were [[Proletariat|proletarians]]. The settlers initially enslaved both Africans and natives.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|author=[[J. Sakai]]|year=1983|title=Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat|title-url=https://readsettlers.org/text-index.html|chapter=The Heart of Whiteness|chapter-url=https://readsettlers.org/ch1.html|section=|isbn=9781629630762}}</ref> | In the 17th century, settlers from Britain and Holland began to arrive in North America. Of 10,000 settlers who left from Bristol between 1654 and 1685, most were farmers and artisans and less than 15% were [[Proletariat|proletarians]]. The settlers initially enslaved both Africans and natives.<ref name=":3">{{Citation|author=[[J. Sakai]]|year=1983|title=Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat|title-url=https://readsettlers.org/text-index.html|chapter=The Heart of Whiteness|chapter-url=https://readsettlers.org/ch1.html|section=|isbn=9781629630762}}</ref> In 1675, [[Metacomet]], also known as "King Philip," led an uprising against the settlers.<ref name=":4">{{Citation|author=J. Sakai|year=1983|title=Settlers: The Mythology of the White Proletariat|title-url=https://readsettlers.org/text-index.html|chapter=Struggles & Alliances|chapter-url=https://readsettlers.org/ch2.html|isbn=9781629630762}}</ref> | ||
In | In 1715, the settlers sold their native slaves abroad and focused on enslaving Africans. By the Revolutionary War, New Afrikans made up over 20% of the non-indigenous population, including more than half in Virginia and South Carolina.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":022">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The Land of the Free|page=38–49|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref> | ||
==== Bacon's Rebellion ==== | ==== Bacon's Rebellion ==== | ||
Soon after King Philip's War, a conflict broke out in Virginia between settlers and the Susquehannock. A settler army of 1,100 surrounded the Susquehannock fort and executed five of their leaders, inspiring them to begin a guerrilla warfare campaign. In May 1676, plantation owner [[Nathaniel Bacon]] formed a vigilante group to attack the Susquehannock, against the orders of the British colonial governor. He went to an Occaneechee fort and persuaded the Occaneechee to attack the Susquehannock. After the Susquehannock were defeated, Bacon attacked the Occaneechee to steal their beaver furs, which were worth about £1,000. | Soon after King Philip's War, a conflict broke out in Virginia between settlers and the Susquehannock. A settler army of 1,100 surrounded the Susquehannock fort and executed five of their leaders, inspiring them to begin a guerrilla warfare campaign. In May 1676, plantation owner [[Nathaniel Bacon]] formed a vigilante group to attack the Susquehannock, against the orders of the British colonial governor. He went to an Occaneechee fort and persuaded the Occaneechee to attack the Susquehannock. After the Susquehannock were defeated, Bacon attacked the Occaneechee to steal their beaver furs, which were worth about £1,000. | ||
After defeating the Occaneechee, Bacon turned against Governor [[ | After defeating the Occaneechee, Bacon turned against Governor [[Norborne Berkeley]], whom he accused of secretly selling guns to the indigenous peoples. On June 23, 1676, he marched to Jamestown with an army of over 500 and captured the city. Loyalist forces arrived in September but Bacon soon recaptured the city and burned it down.<ref name=":4" /> | ||
==== Seven Years' War ==== | ==== Seven Years' War ==== | ||
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=== Independence War === | === Independence War === | ||
{{Main article|Statesian Revolution}}Between 1775 and 1778, state governments passed laws making it illegal to criticize the [[Continental Congress]], which was organizing a rebellion against the British. Eight states banished prominent loyalists and all states deprived their right to vote. Between 80,000 and 100,000 loyalists fled during the revolution, half of which moved to | {{Main article|Statesian Revolution}}Between 1775 and 1778, state governments passed laws making it illegal to criticize the [[Continental Congress]], which was organizing a rebellion against the British. Eight states banished prominent loyalists and all states deprived their right to vote. Between 80,000 and 100,000 loyalists fled during the revolution, half of which moved to Canada. The percentage of colonists that fled from the Statesian Revolution (4% of the white population) was higher than those who fled the [[Russian revolution of 1917|Russian Revolution]] (only 1.5% of the total population).<ref name=":023" /> | ||
During the Statesian Revolution, the British tried to form an alliance with the [[Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)|Cherokee Nation]] and provided them with weapons and funding. In 1776, over 5,000 settlers from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas invaded the Cherokee Nation. Settlers attacked the Cherokee Nation again in 1780 and 1781. | During the Statesian Revolution, the British tried to form an alliance with the [[Cherokee Nation (1794–1907)|Cherokee Nation]] and provided them with weapons and funding. In 1776, over 5,000 settlers from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas invaded the Cherokee Nation. Settlers attacked the Cherokee Nation again in 1780 and 1781. | ||
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=== Early republic === | === Early republic === | ||
The first decades after U.S. independence were characterized by conflict between the [[Federalist Party (United States)|Federalist Party]], which favored the wealthy, and the [[Democratic-Republican Party]], which favored small farmers. [[John Adams]], George Washington's Federalist successor, passed the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]] in 1798 to enforce [[censorship]] and ban criticism of the government. The law sentenced the radical labor leader David Brown to prison in October 1798 after he put up a pole saying "Downfall to the tyrants of America." | |||
In 1801, slave owner [[Thomas Jefferson]] came to power and replaced the Federalist government. He pardoned people convicted under the Alien and Sedition Acts but continued censorship and political repression against his own political opponents.<ref name=":023" /> | In 1801, slave owner [[Thomas Jefferson]] came to power and replaced the Federalist government. He pardoned people convicted under the Alien and Sedition Acts but continued censorship and political repression against his own political opponents.<ref name=":023" /> | ||
=== Westward expansion === | |||
[[File:USA settler expansion.png|thumb|338x338px|United States occupation of native land from 1783 to 1893]] | [[File:USA settler expansion.png|thumb|338x338px|United States occupation of native land from 1783 to 1893]] | ||
After the war against the British Empire, the fledgling United States expanded westward with Thomas Jefferson (the third in [[List of Presidents of the United States|a long line of Presidents]]) referring to the country as an "empire of liberty." As Nancy Isenberg elucidates in her book ''White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America'': "The Louisiana Territory, as he envisioned it, would encourage agriculture and forestall the growth of manufacturing and urban poverty—that was his formula for liberty. It was not [[Benjamin Franklin|Franklin]] | After the war against the British Empire, the fledgling United States expanded westward with Thomas Jefferson (the third in [[List of Presidents of the United States|a long line of Presidents]]) referring to the country as an "empire of liberty." As Nancy Isenberg elucidates in her book ''White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America'': "The Louisiana Territory, as he envisioned it, would encourage agriculture and forestall the growth of manufacturing and urban poverty—that was his formula for liberty. It was not [[Benjamin Franklin|Franklin]]’s “happy mediocrity” (a compression of classes across an endless stretch of unsettled land), but a nation of farmers large and small. This difference is not nominal: Franklin and [[Thomas Paine|Paine]] used Pennsylvania as their model, while Jefferson saw America’s future—and the contours of its [[Class society|class system]]—through the prism of Virginia."<ref>{{Citation|author=Nancy Isenberg|year=2016|title=White trash: the 400-year untold history of class in America|publisher=Viking|isbn=9780670785971|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=858AE1D454C3854355613E1824C318ED|page=92}}</ref> | ||
Around 1800, as the lands further to the west were opened up to the fledgling United States, the young state saw the land as a way to appease its population and strengthen its power in the world. As Nancy Isenberg further explains: "By 1800, one-fifth of the American population had resettled on its 'frontier,' the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi. Effective regulation of this mass migration was well beyond the limited powers of the federal government. Even so, officials understood that the country’s future depended on controlling this vast territory. Financial matters were involved too. Government sale of these lands was needed to reduce the nation’s war debts. Besides, the lands were hardly empty, and the potential for violent conflicts with Native Americans was ever present, as white migrants settled on lands they did not own. National greatness depended as much as anything upon the class of settlers that was advancing into the new territories."<ref>{{Citation|author=Nancy Isenberg|year=2016|title=White trash: the 400-year untold history of class in America|publisher=Viking|isbn=9780670785971|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=858AE1D454C3854355613E1824C318ED|page=110}}</ref> | Around 1800, as the lands further to the west were opened up to the fledgling United States, the young state saw the land as a way to appease its population and strengthen its power in the world. As Nancy Isenberg further explains: "By 1800, one-fifth of the American population had resettled on its 'frontier,' the territory between the Appalachian Mountains and the Mississippi. Effective regulation of this mass migration was well beyond the limited powers of the federal government. Even so, officials understood that the country’s future depended on controlling this vast territory. Financial matters were involved too. Government sale of these lands was needed to reduce the nation’s war debts. Besides, the lands were hardly empty, and the potential for violent conflicts with Native Americans was ever present, as white migrants settled on lands they did not own. National greatness depended as much as anything upon the class of settlers that was advancing into the new territories."<ref>{{Citation|author=Nancy Isenberg|year=2016|title=White trash: the 400-year untold history of class in America|publisher=Viking|isbn=9780670785971|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=858AE1D454C3854355613E1824C318ED|page=110}}</ref> | ||
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Through a series of treaties from 1814 to 1824, settlers took control of most of [[Alabama]] and [[Florida]] as well as parts of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Commonwealth of Kentucky|Kentucky]], [[Mississippi]], [[North Carolina]], and [[State of Tennessee|Tennessee]]. Future president [[Andrew Jackson]] relied on bribery and threats to make native leaders sign these treaties. In 1818, he began raids into [[Governorate of Florida (1783–1821)|Spanish Florida]] and destroyed Seminole villages until [[Kingdom of Spain (1813–1873)|Spain]] surrendered the territory to the United States in 1819.<ref name=":5" /> | Through a series of treaties from 1814 to 1824, settlers took control of most of [[Alabama]] and [[Florida]] as well as parts of [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Commonwealth of Kentucky|Kentucky]], [[Mississippi]], [[North Carolina]], and [[State of Tennessee|Tennessee]]. Future president [[Andrew Jackson]] relied on bribery and threats to make native leaders sign these treaties. In 1818, he began raids into [[Governorate of Florida (1783–1821)|Spanish Florida]] and destroyed Seminole villages until [[Kingdom of Spain (1813–1873)|Spain]] surrendered the territory to the United States in 1819.<ref name=":5" /> | ||
Presidents Andrew Jackson and [[Martin Van Buren]] forced 70,000 Native Americans to move west across the Mississippi River. Secretary of War [[Lewis Cass]] promised in 1825 that the United States would never try to take indigenous land west of the Mississippi.<ref name=":5" /> | Presidents Andrew Jackson and [[Martin Van Buren]] forced 70,000 Native Americans to move west across the Mississippi River. Secretary of War [[Lewis Cass]] promised in 1825 that the United States would never try to take indigenous land west of the Mississippi.<ref name=":5" /> | ||
==== Invasion of Ohio ==== | |||
Mohawk leader Thayendanegea had formed an alliance of the indigenous nations in the Ohio River valley in the 1780s and received weapons from the British. Secretary of War [[Henry Knox]] organized an army of settlers from Kentucky to invade the territory of the Miami and Shawnee nations.<ref name=":8" /> Little Turtle and Blue Jacket ambushed the settler army, who destroyed 300 buildings and looted the two largest Miami towns. In 1791, they destroyed the invading army led by [[Arthur St. Clair]] at the Battle of Wabash, which was one of the largest defeats of the U.S. military in history.<ref name=":9">{{Citation|author=[[Nick Estes]], et al.|year=2021|title=Red Nation Rising|chapter=Anti-Indianism|page=22–27|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacechp4anuu3vkx7ttze5vwtbbslqpqkouqemkpa5xui27eulvyntx2?filename=Nick%20Estes%2C%20Melanie%20Yazzie%2C%20Jennifer%20Nez%20Denetdale%2C%20David%20Correia%20-%20Red%20Nation%20Rising_%20From%20Bordertown%20Violence%20to%20Native%20Liberation-PM%20Press%20%282021%29.pdf}}</ref> Anthony Wayne, who led the settlers from 1792 to 1794, destroyed food supplies and murdered native civilians. After Blue Jacket refused an ultimatum at Fort Defiance, settler forces began an extermination campaign against civilians. They defeated the Shawnee at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794. The USA annexed southern Ohio in 1795 with the Treaty of Greenville. | |||
In 1807, the Shawnee brothers [[Tecumseh]] and Tenskwatawa began a movement for indigenous peoples to return to their pre-colonial culture. Tecumseh united the nations of the northwest and presented a program to prevent settlers from buying native land. The governor of Indiana, [[William Henry Harrison]], bribed some Delaware, Miami, and Potawatomi to give up their land in 1809. In 1810, he moved south to bring the Muskogees, Choctaws, and Chickasaws into the alliance. In November 1811, Statesian troops attacked Tenskwatawa at Prophetstown and killed 200 natives. After the attack, Kickapoos, Winnebagos, Potawatomis, and Creeks obtained British weapons from Canada to fight the settlers.<ref name=":8">{{Citation|author=[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]]|year=2014|title=An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States|chapter=The Birth of a Nation|page=81–87|pdf=https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10601/An%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Ortiz.pdf|city=Boston|publisher=Beacon Press Books|series=ReVisioning American History|title-url=}}</ref> | |||
[[ | |||
==== | ==== War of 1812 ==== | ||
The United States declared war on [[Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1801–1922)|Britain]] in 1812 because of its connections to Tecumseh's [[Anti-colonialism|anticolonial]] movement. Indigenous forces liberated Michigan and forced thousands of settlers out of Illinois and Indiana, but the USA killed Tecumseh at the Battle of Thames in 1813, destroying the resistance.<ref name=":8" /> | |||
==== Trail of Tears ==== | |||
In 1838, the United States forced the Cherokee Nation to march to Indian Territory in Oklahoma. Half of the 16,000 Cherokees died during the march. The Muskogees and Seminoles suffered similar death rates and about 15% of the Choctaws and Chickasaws died on the way to Oklahoma.'''<ref name=":82">{{Citation|author=[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]]|year=2014|title=An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States|chapter=Andrew Jackson's White Republic|page=112–113|pdf=https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10601/An%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Ortiz.pdf|city=Boston|publisher=Beacon Press Books|series=ReVisioning American History|title-url=}}</ref>''' | |||
==== Invasion of Mexico ==== | |||
After the Mexican government banned slavery in 1829, US-backed settlers in [[Texas]] rebelled to form the Republic of Texas in 1836, which the United States annexed in 1845. The United States invaded Mexico in 1846, beginning in Veracruz. They occupied Mexico City in 1848 and did not leave until Mexico surrendered its northern territories to the USA. After the annexation, U.S. cavalry troops attacked the Apaches led by [[Mangas Coloradas]], destroying crops and villages and murdering civilians.'''<ref name=":822">{{Citation|author=[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]]|year=2014|title=An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States|chapter=Sea to Shining Sea|page=123–132|pdf=https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10601/An%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Ortiz.pdf|city=Boston|publisher=Beacon Press Books|series=ReVisioning American History|title-url=}}</ref>''' | |||
[[ | |||
=== Civil War era === | === Civil War era === | ||
{{Main article|Statesian Civil War}} | {{Main article|Statesian Civil War}} | ||
[[File:Statesian civil war map.svg|thumb|United States in blue and Confederacy in red. Light blue states remained in the Union but allowed slavery.]] | [[File:Statesian civil war map.svg|thumb|United States in blue and Confederacy in red. Light blue states remained in the Union but allowed slavery.]] | ||
In January 1861, several slave states seceded from the USA to form the [[Confederate States of America (1861–1865)|Confederate States of America]]. They seized an army base at Fort Sumter in April, beginning a war against the United States. In addition the the Union Army, the Confederacy also fought against [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] units of indigenous peoples and former slaves in Kansas.<ref name=":03">{{Citation|author=[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]]|year=2014|title=An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States|chapter="Indian Country"|pdf=https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10601/An%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Ortiz.pdf|city=Boston, Massachusetts|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=9780807000403|page=}}</ref | In January 1861, several slave states seceded from the USA to form the [[Confederate States of America (1861–1865)|Confederate States of America]]. They seized an army base at Fort Sumter in April, beginning a war against the United States. In addition the the Union Army, the Confederacy also fought against [[Guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] units of indigenous peoples and former slaves in Kansas. The Union violently put down a rebellion of the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] in Minnesota in 1862.<ref name=":03">{{Citation|author=[[Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz]]|year=2014|title=An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States|chapter="Indian Country"|pdf=https://www.lcps.org/cms/lib/VA01000195/Centricity/Domain/10601/An%20Indigenous%20Peoples%20History%20of%20the%20United%20States%20Ortiz.pdf|city=Boston, Massachusetts|publisher=Beacon Press|isbn=9780807000403|page=133–136}}</ref> | ||
==== Reconstruction ==== | ==== Reconstruction ==== | ||
After the defeat of the Confederacy, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed a series of laws putting the south under military rule. The army prevented former Confederates from voting and organized an anti-secessionist electorate. They elected delegates to create new state constitutions so their states could rejoin the USA. The army enfranchised almost 700,000 Black people and prevented 200,000 Confederates from voting. Most Confederate leaders were only jailed for short periods or not at all, and only one, Henry Wirz, was executed. | After the defeat of the Confederacy, [[United States Congress|Congress]] passed a series of laws putting the south under military rule. The army prevented former Confederates from voting and organized an anti-secessionist electorate. They elected delegates to create new state constitutions so their states could rejoin the USA. The army enfranchised almost 700,000 Black people and prevented 200,000 Confederates from voting. Most Confederate leaders were only jailed for short periods or not at all, and only one, Henry Wirz, was executed. | ||
President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] declared martial law in nine counties of [[South Carolina]] to combat the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and arrested | President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] declared martial law in nine counties of [[South Carolina]] to combat the [[Ku Klux Klan]] and arrested 500–600 people. In 1872, an amnesty act restored voting rights to most Confederates and only kept the top 300 or 400 disenfranchised. Many former slave owners fled to [[Federative Republic of Brazil#Empire era (1822–1889)|Brazil]] or [[Cuba]].<ref name=":0232">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The Land of the Free|page=160–161|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref> Reconstruction ended in 1877, leading to the creation of a white supremacist dictatorship in the south.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Domenico Losurdo]]|year=2011|title=Liberalism: A Counter-History|chapter=The West and the Barbarians|page=222|publisher=Verso|isbn=9781844676934|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=5BB3406BC2E64972831A1C00D5D4BFE4|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacebhsj2yxuoudkhkjp6lzgr5jvgyhu76zxe4gw3d65gpg32a6nded4?filename=Domenico%20Losurdo%2C%20Gregory%20Elliott%20-%20Liberalism_%20A%20Counter-History-Verso%20%282011%29.pdf}}</ref> | ||
==== Frontier wars ==== | |||
[[Geronimo]] (Goyaałé) of the Apache nation led an insurgency against the U.S. colonizers from 1850 to 1886.<ref name=":9" /> | |||
===Rise as global empire=== | ===Rise as global empire=== | ||
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The USA began an attack against the workers' movement following the [[Haymarket affair]] of 1886 and executed four [[Anarchism|anarchists]], including two who had not been involved in the incident. Soon after, the police raided the houses of dissidents throughout Chicago and destroyed foreign language newspapers. Leaders of the [[Noble Order of the Knights of Labor|Knights of Labor]] from multiple states were also arrested. | The USA began an attack against the workers' movement following the [[Haymarket affair]] of 1886 and executed four [[Anarchism|anarchists]], including two who had not been involved in the incident. Soon after, the police raided the houses of dissidents throughout Chicago and destroyed foreign language newspapers. Leaders of the [[Noble Order of the Knights of Labor|Knights of Labor]] from multiple states were also arrested. | ||
Starting in 1892, states began to declare martial law in order to suppress [[Strike action|strikes]]. In 1903, 1,000 troops invaded the town of Cripple Creek, Colorado, arrested 600 strikers, and held them in prison for weeks without trial.<ref name=":0233">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The Land of the Free|page=|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref> | Starting in 1892, states began to declare martial law in order to suppress [[Strike action|strikes]]. In 1903, 1,000 troops invaded the town of Cripple Creek, Colorado, arrested 600 strikers, and held them in prison for weeks without trial.<ref name=":0233">{{Citation|author=Albert Szymanski|year=1984|title=Human Rights in the Soviet Union|chapter=The Land of the Free|page=161–170|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzaceazdmtb2y3qq27fve5ib3gk7uv2unt6ae2xss74xmfpur7k5uhl5m?filename=Albert%20Szymanski%20-%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Soviet%20Union_%20Including%20Comparisons%20with%20the%20U.S.A.-Zed%20Books%20Ltd.%20%281984%29.pdf|city=London|publisher=Zed Books Ltd|isbn=0862320186|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=C597B1232D9EA6B0F3DCB438D7E15A81}}</ref> | ||
==== Austronesian genocide ==== | ==== Austronesian genocide ==== | ||
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Consider how similar events played out more recently. On August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda launched simultaneous attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, [[Republic of Kenya|Kenya]], and Dar es Salaam, [[United Republic of Tanzania|Tanzania]]. Hundreds died (mostly Africans), and thousands were wounded. But though those embassies were outposts of the United States, there was little public sense that the country ''itself'' had been harmed. It would take another set of simultaneous attacks three years later, on New York City and Washington, D.C., to provoke an all-out war."<ref>{{Citation|author=Daniel Immerwahr|year=2019|title=How to hide an empire: a history of the greater United States|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=9780374172145|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9D70A450044495E0D851721E77D5C8A1|page=6}}</ref></blockquote>While an embassy is different from a territory, as the book concedes, a similar logic was at play. And as Immerwahr says, Hawaii had more Americans and was closer to statehood. However, as Immerwahr explains, even Roosevelt felt the need to say that the "American island of Oahu" was attacked and that "very many American lives" had been lost. As Immerwahr says in explaining the nationalism implicit in Roosevelt's speech after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor: "An ''American'' island, where ''American'' lives were lost - that was the point he was trying to make. If the Philippines was being rounded down to foreign, [[Hawaii|Hawai'i]] was being rounded up to 'American.'"<ref>{{Citation|author=Daniel Immerwahr|year=2019|title=How to hide an empire: a history of the greater United States|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=9780374172145|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9D70A450044495E0D851721E77D5C8A1|page=7}}</ref> | Consider how similar events played out more recently. On August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda launched simultaneous attacks on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, [[Republic of Kenya|Kenya]], and Dar es Salaam, [[United Republic of Tanzania|Tanzania]]. Hundreds died (mostly Africans), and thousands were wounded. But though those embassies were outposts of the United States, there was little public sense that the country ''itself'' had been harmed. It would take another set of simultaneous attacks three years later, on New York City and Washington, D.C., to provoke an all-out war."<ref>{{Citation|author=Daniel Immerwahr|year=2019|title=How to hide an empire: a history of the greater United States|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=9780374172145|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9D70A450044495E0D851721E77D5C8A1|page=6}}</ref></blockquote>While an embassy is different from a territory, as the book concedes, a similar logic was at play. And as Immerwahr says, Hawaii had more Americans and was closer to statehood. However, as Immerwahr explains, even Roosevelt felt the need to say that the "American island of Oahu" was attacked and that "very many American lives" had been lost. As Immerwahr says in explaining the nationalism implicit in Roosevelt's speech after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor: "An ''American'' island, where ''American'' lives were lost - that was the point he was trying to make. If the Philippines was being rounded down to foreign, [[Hawaii|Hawai'i]] was being rounded up to 'American.'"<ref>{{Citation|author=Daniel Immerwahr|year=2019|title=How to hide an empire: a history of the greater United States|publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|isbn=9780374172145|lg=http://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=9D70A450044495E0D851721E77D5C8A1|page=7}}</ref> | ||
==== First | ==== First Imperialist War ==== | ||
{{Main article|First World War}}The [[Socialist Party of America]] and [[Industrial Workers of the World]] opposed U.S. involvement in the First World War. In May 1918, the USA passed the [[Sedition Act]], banning opposition to the war, and arrested New York SPA leader [[Benjamin Gitlow]]. Arizona, California, Montana, New York, and West Virginia passed laws banning left-wing activism. 27 farmers from South Dakota were sent to prison for petitioning against the war. Between 1917 and 1923, 33 states banned the use of red flags. In April 1918, 113 IWW members were convicted of over 10,000 offenses. [[Bill Haywood|Big Bill Haywood]], who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, escaped to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]. In addition to socialists, the United States suppressed pro-[[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] publications that criticized the British Empire. [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]], who was imprisoned following an anti-war speech in June 1918, ran for president in 1920 and received over a million votes.<ref name=":0233" / | {{Main article|First World War}}The [[Socialist Party of America]] and [[Industrial Workers of the World]] opposed U.S. involvement in the First World War. In May 1918, the USA passed the [[Sedition Act]], banning opposition to the war, and arrested New York SPA leader [[Benjamin Gitlow]]. Arizona, California, Montana, New York, and West Virginia passed laws banning left-wing activism. 27 farmers from South Dakota were sent to prison for petitioning against the war. Between 1917 and 1923, 33 states banned the use of red flags. In April 1918, 113 IWW members were convicted of over 10,000 offenses. [[Bill Haywood|Big Bill Haywood]], who was sentenced to 20 years in prison, escaped to the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|Soviet Union]]. In addition to socialists, the United States suppressed pro-[[Republic of Ireland|Irish]] publications that criticized the British Empire. [[Eugene V. Debs|Eugene Debs]], who was imprisoned following an anti-war speech in June 1918, ran for president in 1920 and received over a million votes.<ref name=":0233" /> | ||
===== Palmer Raids ===== | ===== Palmer Raids ===== | ||
On January 2, 1920, federal agents led by [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] arrested over 4,000 dissidents in 33 cities across 23 states. Between 1917 and 1921, they deported 900 leftists | On January 2, 1920, federal agents led by [[A. Mitchell Palmer]] arrested over 4,000 dissidents in 33 cities across 23 states. Between 1917 and 1921, they deported 900 leftists.<ref name=":0233" /> | ||
==== Great Depression ==== | ==== Great Depression ==== | ||
{{Main article|Great Depression}} | {{Main article|Great Depression}} | ||
==== Second World War ==== | ==== Second World War ==== | ||
{{Main article|Second World War}} | {{Main article|Second World War}}After the defeat of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]] in the Second World War, the United States resurrected its former enemy to be used as a satellite state against [[socialism]].<ref name=":110">{{Citation|author=Stephen Gowans|year=2018|title=Patriots, Traitors and Empires: The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom|chapter=Suppressing a Worldwide Movement for Liberty|page=105–107|pdf=https://ipfs.io/ipfs/bafykbzaced4iiga4ngtxusr2civjxewbili5jne2sbpefbx2s3im2kphattzc?filename=Stephen%20Gowans%20-%20Patriots%2C%20Traitors%20and%20Empires_%20The%20Story%20of%20Korea%E2%80%99s%20Struggle%20for%20Freedom-Baraka%20Books%20%282018%29.pdf|city=Montreal|publisher=Baraka Books|isbn=9781771861427|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=8435F6FF91279531705764823FDC2A7F}}</ref> | ||
=== Cold War === | === Cold War === | ||
==== Invasion of Korea ==== | ==== Invasion of Korea ==== | ||
{{Main article|Fatherland Liberation War}} | {{Main article|Fatherland Liberation War}} | ||
==== Invasion of Vietnam ==== | ==== Invasion of Vietnam ==== | ||
{{Main article|Vietnam War}} | {{Main article|Vietnam War}} | ||
===21st century=== | ===21st century=== | ||
==== Internal crises ==== | ====Internal crises==== | ||
The US is embroiled in crisis as its middle class (the [[Petty bourgeoisie|petit bourgeoisie]]) is increasingly impoverished.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-state-of-americas-middle-class-in-eight-charts/ The State of America’s Middle Class in Eight Charts] PBS Frontline by Jason M. Breslow and Evan Wexler on July 9th, 2013</ref><ref>[https://americansystemnow.com/deindustrialization-is-killing-america/ Deindustrialization is Killing America]</ref> This is due to the capitalist class deciding to offshore well-paying industrial jobs to lower-income countries,<ref>[https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/08/a-new-assessment-of-the-role-of-offshoring-in-the-decline-in-us-manufacturing-employment.html A New Assessment of the Role of Offshoring in the Decline in US Manufacturing Employment] on Naked Capitalism by Yves Smith on Aug 16, 2019</ref> as well expansionary monetary policy<ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1220364.shtml US’ excessive money-printing prompts de-dollarization] on [[Global Times]] by Ma Jingjing published on April 6th, 2021 </ref> which enriches the bourgeoisie through asset price inflation,<ref>[https://fee.org/articles/the-cantillon-effect-because-of-inflation-we-re-financing-the-financiers/ The Cantillon Effect: Because of Inflation, We’re Financing the Financiers] on Fee.org by Jessica Schultz on Oct 28, 2018</ref> and deepens the crisis among the poor by weakening their purchasing power. | The US is embroiled in crisis as its middle class (the [[Petty bourgeoisie|petit bourgeoisie]]) is increasingly impoverished.<ref>[https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/the-state-of-americas-middle-class-in-eight-charts/ The State of America’s Middle Class in Eight Charts] PBS Frontline by Jason M. Breslow and Evan Wexler on July 9th, 2013</ref><ref>[https://americansystemnow.com/deindustrialization-is-killing-america/ Deindustrialization is Killing America]</ref> This is due to the capitalist class deciding to offshore well-paying industrial jobs to lower-income countries,<ref>[https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2019/08/a-new-assessment-of-the-role-of-offshoring-in-the-decline-in-us-manufacturing-employment.html A New Assessment of the Role of Offshoring in the Decline in US Manufacturing Employment] on Naked Capitalism by Yves Smith on Aug 16, 2019</ref> as well expansionary monetary policy<ref>[https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202104/1220364.shtml US’ excessive money-printing prompts de-dollarization] on [[Global Times]] by Ma Jingjing published on April 6th, 2021 </ref> which enriches the bourgeoisie through asset price inflation,<ref>[https://fee.org/articles/the-cantillon-effect-because-of-inflation-we-re-financing-the-financiers/ The Cantillon Effect: Because of Inflation, We’re Financing the Financiers] on Fee.org by Jessica Schultz on Oct 28, 2018</ref> and deepens the crisis among the poor by weakening their purchasing power. | ||
As a result of this ongoing crisis of capitalism, populist movements have risen to challenge the rule of "the elites." [[Occupy Wall Street]] was a popular movement against the financial elites in 2011. During the 2016 presidential election, the corporate-owned media attacked both the left-wing populist [[Bernie Sanders]], as well as the right-wing populist [[Donald Trump]]. The Democratic Party's strategy to "elevate Trump" to make the Republican ticket look unsavory ended up backfiring and resulting in Trump's victory. | As a result of this ongoing crisis of capitalism, populist movements have risen to challenge the rule of "the elites." [[Occupy Wall Street]] was a popular movement against the financial elites in 2011. During the 2016 presidential election, the corporate-owned media attacked both the left-wing populist [[Bernie Sanders]], as well as the right-wing populist [[Donald Trump]]. The Democratic Party's strategy to "elevate Trump" to make the Republican ticket look unsavory ended up backfiring and resulting in Trump's victory. | ||
With the economic hardships of the 2020's, a growing number of Americans, often of younger ages, have begun to lose faith in capitalism.<ref>{{News citation|author=Laura Wronski|newspaper=SurveyMoney|title=Axios{{!}}Momentive Poll: Capitalism and Socialism|date=2021-6-11|url=https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/axios-capitalism-update/|retrieved=2022-6-11}}</ref> While many of these discontent people have achieved [[consciousness]] in how many problems (constant wars, [[homelessness]], [[Climate change|global warming]], etc.) in society can ultimately be traced back to capitalism, and have therefore aligned themselves with [[Marxism|Marxist]] or otherwise [[socialist]] ideologies, there are many other malcontent people who have taken to the far-right. A trend that is present especially among the middle-class, there has been an increase in the popularity of populist and xenophobic groups, as well as an increasing [[Fascism|fascistization]] of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] (one of the two ruling parties in the Statesian government).<ref>{{Citation|author=Marc-André Argentino, Blyth Crawford, Florence Keen, Hannah Rose|year=2021|title=Far-From-Gone:The Evolutionof Extremism in the First 100 Daysof the Biden Administration|title-url=https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICSR-Report-Far-From-Gone-The-Evolution-of-Extremism-in-the-First-100-Days-of-the-Biden-Administration.pdf|chapter=3. The 6 January Insurrectionists: Narratives and Motivations|section=Discontent with Presidential Election Results|page=63-72|pdf=https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICSR-Report-Far-From-Gone-The-Evolution-of-Extremism-in-the-First-100-Days-of-the-Biden-Administration.pdf|city=London|publisher=International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|author=Alison Durkee|newspaper=Forbes|title=More Than Half Of Republicans Believe Voter Fraud Claims And Most Still Support Trump, Poll Finds|date=2021-4-5|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/04/05/more-than-half-of-republicans-believe-voter-fraud-claims-and-most-still-support-trump-poll-finds/?sh=7edebb081b3f|retrieved=2022-6-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Dr. Robert A. Pape|year=2021|title=UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN DOMESTIC TERRORISM|title-url=https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/americas_insurrectionists_online_2021_04_06.pdf?mtime=1617807009|chapter=STUDY 1:WHO ARE THE INSURRECTIONISTS AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM|section=MANY BUSINESS OWNERS/WHITECOLLAR|page=6-9|pdf=https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/americas_insurrectionists_online_2021_04_06.pdf?mtime=1617807009|city=The University of Chicago|publisher=Chicago Project on Security and Threats|trans-lang=English}}</ref> | With the economic hardships of the 2020's, a growing number of Americans, often of younger ages, have begun to lose faith in capitalism.<ref>{{News citation|author=Laura Wronski|newspaper=SurveyMoney|title=Axios{{!}}Momentive Poll: Capitalism and Socialism|date=2021-6-11|url=https://www.surveymonkey.com/curiosity/axios-capitalism-update/|retrieved=2022-6-11}}</ref> While many of these discontent people have achieved [[consciousness]] in how many problems (constant wars, [[homelessness]], [[Climate change|global warming]], etc.) in society can ultimately be traced back to capitalism, and have therefore aligned themselves with [[Marxism|Marxist]] or otherwise [[socialist]] ideologies, there are many other malcontent people who have taken to the far-right. A trend that is present especially among the middle-class, there has been an increase in the popularity of populist and xenophobic groups, as well as an increasing [[Fascism|fascistization]] of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] (one of the two ruling parties in the Statesian government).<ref>{{Citation|author=Marc-André Argentino, Blyth Crawford, Florence Keen, Hannah Rose|year=2021|title=Far-From-Gone:The Evolutionof Extremism in the First 100 Daysof the Biden Administration|title-url=https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICSR-Report-Far-From-Gone-The-Evolution-of-Extremism-in-the-First-100-Days-of-the-Biden-Administration.pdf|chapter=3. The 6 January Insurrectionists: Narratives and Motivations|section=Discontent with Presidential Election Results|page=63-72|pdf=https://icsr.info/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ICSR-Report-Far-From-Gone-The-Evolution-of-Extremism-in-the-First-100-Days-of-the-Biden-Administration.pdf|city=London|publisher=International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation|trans-lang=English}}</ref><ref>{{News citation|author=Alison Durkee|newspaper=Forbes|title=More Than Half Of Republicans Believe Voter Fraud Claims And Most Still Support Trump, Poll Finds|date=2021-4-5|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/04/05/more-than-half-of-republicans-believe-voter-fraud-claims-and-most-still-support-trump-poll-finds/?sh=7edebb081b3f|retrieved=2022-6-10}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Dr. Robert A. Pape|year=2021|title=UNDERSTANDING AMERICAN DOMESTIC TERRORISM|title-url=https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/americas_insurrectionists_online_2021_04_06.pdf?mtime=1617807009|chapter=STUDY 1:WHO ARE THE INSURRECTIONISTS AND WHERE DID THEY COME FROM|section=MANY BUSINESS OWNERS/WHITECOLLAR|page=6-9|pdf=https://d3qi0qp55mx5f5.cloudfront.net/cpost/i/docs/americas_insurrectionists_online_2021_04_06.pdf?mtime=1617807009|city=The University of Chicago|publisher=Chicago Project on Security and Threats|trans-lang=English}}</ref> | ||
====External losses==== | ====External losses==== | ||
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Other losses that the American empire has had to endure in the 21st century include, in chronological order: | Other losses that the American empire has had to endure in the 21st century include, in chronological order: | ||
* The [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]] completely blindsided intelligence and security agencies | *The [[September 11 attacks|September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks]], which completely blindsided intelligence and security agencies, showed a very big weakness in the imperial apparatus: it was not as invincible as it thought. | ||
* A smear campaign originated in the US media in January 2019 when [[Venezuela|Venezuelan]] president [[Nicolás Maduro]] was reelected. US News organisations started reporting about a supposed humanitarian crisis in the country, owing to Maduro's allegedly "disastrous" policies. Two weeks later, president of the Assembly [[Juan Guaidó|Juan Guaido]] proclaimed himself president of Venezuela as he contested Maduro's results under the guise that he was not allowed to run for office a third time as per the constitution. Juan Guaido, who enjoyed very little support at home and was a nobody, was nonetheless instantly recognized as the legitimate president of Venezuela by the United States and other countries and organisations ([[Canada]], [[European Union]]...). An attempted [[Colour revolution|color revolution]] then was planned in Venezuela, but went nowhere. Guaido was then slowly phased out of the public eye in the international community, though he continues to make noise in Venezuela. Maduro remains the president of Venezuela. | *A smear campaign originated in the US media in January 2019 when [[Venezuela|Venezuelan]] president [[Nicolás Maduro]] was reelected. US News organisations started reporting about a supposed humanitarian crisis in the country, owing to Maduro's allegedly "disastrous" policies. Two weeks later, president of the Assembly [[Juan Guaidó|Juan Guaido]] proclaimed himself president of Venezuela as he contested Maduro's results under the guise that he was not allowed to run for office a third time as per the constitution. Juan Guaido, who enjoyed very little support at home and was a nobody, was nonetheless instantly recognized as the legitimate president of Venezuela by the United States and other countries and organisations ([[Canada]], [[European Union]]...). An attempted [[Colour revolution|color revolution]] then was planned in Venezuela, but went nowhere. Guaido was then slowly phased out of the public eye in the international community, though he continues to make noise in Venezuela. Maduro remains the president of Venezuela. | ||
* In late 2019, [[Plurinational State of Bolivia|Bolivian]] president [[Evo Morales]] was reelected at his position. The election results were immediately contested by the [[Organization of American States|Organisation of American States]], a US-led organisation for the purpose of securing imperialism on the American continent. While these allegations proved to be false, Morales went in exile for over six months while [[Jeanine Áñez|Jeanine Añez]], a far-right | *In late 2019, [[Plurinational State of Bolivia|Bolivian]] president [[Evo Morales]] was reelected at his position. The election results were immediately contested by the [[Organization of American States|Organisation of American States]], a US-led organisation for the purpose of securing imperialism on the American continent. While these allegations proved to be false, Morales went in exile for over six months while [[Jeanine Áñez|Jeanine Añez]], a far-right comprador politician, was placed as an interim. After delaying new elections twice, Añez finally relented and took a huge blow when [[Luis Arce]], from the same party as Morales was elected. Añez is now in prison awaiting trial on various charges including terrorism, sedition, and leading a coup against the government. | ||
* In January 2020, the United States ordered the assassination of [[Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian]] general [[Qasem Soleimani]] while on visit in Baghdad, [[Iraq]]. Later that month, Iran retaliated by launching an attack on a US military base in Iraq on a scale never seen before. The US did not retaliate against this attack in any way. | *In January 2020, the United States ordered the assassination of [[Islamic Republic of Iran|Iranian]] general [[Qasem Soleimani]] while on visit in Baghdad, [[Iraq]]. Later that month, Iran retaliated by launching an attack on a US military base in Iraq on a scale never seen before. The US did not retaliate against this attack in any way. | ||
* In August 2021, the United States, after 20 years of occupation in [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)|Afghanistan]] to prevent the [[Taliban]] from controlling the state, did exactly the opposite and let the Taliban seize the Afghan state. | *In August 2021, the United States, after 20 years of occupation in [[Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2004–2021)|Afghanistan]] to prevent the [[Taliban]] from controlling the state, did exactly the opposite and let the Taliban seize the Afghan state. | ||
It is important to compare this list to earlier imperialist ventures of the United States who, for example, considered South America their "backyard" for most of the 20th century and successfully pulled-off coups and regime changes unimpeded in the region. While the Empire also took losses in the 20th century (the invasion of Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs invasion | It is important to compare this list to earlier imperialist ventures of the United States who, for example, considered South America their "backyard" for most of the 20th century and successfully pulled-off coups and regime changes unimpeded in the region. While the Empire also took losses in the 20th century (the invasion of Vietnam, the Bay of Pigs invasion...), it must only contextualised by looking at the general trends and how these losses are rapidly adding up. | ||
== Genocide of indigenous peoples == | == Genocide of indigenous peoples == | ||
<blockquote>''See also: [[List of atrocities commited by the United States of America#Genocide%20of%20indigenous%20peoples%20of%20the%20United%20States|List of atrocities committed by the United States of America#Genocide of indigenous peoples of the United States]]''</blockquote> | <blockquote>''See also: [[List of atrocities commited by the United States of America#Genocide%20of%20indigenous%20peoples%20of%20the%20United%20States|List of atrocities committed by the United States of America#Genocide of indigenous peoples of the United States]]''</blockquote>Over 90% of the indigenous population of North America was killed due to colonization, and some have estimated that no more than 2% of the pre-Columbian population survived and settlers killed over 18 million indigenous people. From 1641 to the late 18th century, legislation existed that rewarded settlers for killing indigenous peoples, with extra rewards for the scalps of boys.<ref name=":6" /> | ||
Over 90% of the indigenous population of North America was killed due to colonization, and some have estimated that no more than 2% of the pre- | |||
By the late 19th century, the native population had been decimated and the survivors were forced into concentration camps. Native children were forced into boarding schools and prevented from speaking their native languages.<ref name=":2" /> Several hundred children died in these schools.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=CGTN|title=U.S. govt finds burial sites at 53 Native American boarding schools|date=2022-05-13|url=https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-05-13/U-S-govt-finds-burial-sites-at-53-Native-American-boarding-schools-19ZRXTgFIC4/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513073029/https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-05-13/U-S-govt-finds-burial-sites-at-53-Native-American-boarding-schools-19ZRXTgFIC4/index.html|archive-date=2022-05-13|retrieved=2022-07-01}}</ref> The federal government also set up an educational system to "kill the Indian and save the man" by eliminating Native American religious and cultural traditions.<ref name=":11">{{Citation|author=Jeffrey Ostler|year=2015|title=Empire’s Twin: U.S. Anti-Imperialism from the Founding Era to the Age of Terrorism|chapter=“Native Americans against Empire and Colonial Rule,”|page=53|city=Ithaca, New York|publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref> These policies were deliberately designed to bring about the extinction of Native American people and their customs.<ref name=":11" /> By 1900, only 190,000 Native Americans in the United States remained alive compared to five million at the beginning of colonization.<ref name=":2" /> | By the late 19th century, the native population had been decimated and the survivors were forced into concentration camps. Native children were forced into boarding schools and prevented from speaking their native languages.<ref name=":2" /> Several hundred children died in these schools.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=CGTN|title=U.S. govt finds burial sites at 53 Native American boarding schools|date=2022-05-13|url=https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-05-13/U-S-govt-finds-burial-sites-at-53-Native-American-boarding-schools-19ZRXTgFIC4/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220513073029/https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-05-13/U-S-govt-finds-burial-sites-at-53-Native-American-boarding-schools-19ZRXTgFIC4/index.html|archive-date=2022-05-13|retrieved=2022-07-01}}</ref> The federal government also set up an educational system to "kill the Indian and save the man" by eliminating Native American religious and cultural traditions.<ref name=":11">{{Citation|author=Jeffrey Ostler|year=2015|title=Empire’s Twin: U.S. Anti-Imperialism from the Founding Era to the Age of Terrorism|chapter=“Native Americans against Empire and Colonial Rule,”|page=53|city=Ithaca, New York|publisher=Cornell University Press}}</ref> These policies were deliberately designed to bring about the extinction of Native American people and their customs.<ref name=":11" /> By 1900, only 190,000 Native Americans in the United States remained alive compared to five million at the beginning of colonization.<ref name=":2" /> | ||
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[[File:US Plutocracy Flag.jpg|alt=U.S. flag restyled to illustrate the plutocratic and corporatist nature of the political system|thumb|U.S. flag restyled to illustrate the plutocratic and corporatist nature of the political system; the 50 stars which represent each state have been replaced with the logos of large monopolistic corporations. ]] | [[File:US Plutocracy Flag.jpg|alt=U.S. flag restyled to illustrate the plutocratic and corporatist nature of the political system|thumb|U.S. flag restyled to illustrate the plutocratic and corporatist nature of the political system; the 50 stars which represent each state have been replaced with the logos of large monopolistic corporations. ]] | ||
[[File:US government diagram.png|thumb|Connections between the capitalist [[ruling class]] and the U.S. government]] | [[File:US government diagram.png|thumb|Connections between the capitalist [[ruling class]] and the U.S. government]] | ||
The US political system is a ''de facto'' plutocracy, a government entirely controlled by the wealthy.<ref>{{Web citation|author=TOM MCKAY|newspaper=MIC|title=Princeton Concludes What Kind of Government America Really Has, and It's Not a Democracy|date=2016-4-16|url=https://www.mic.com/articles/87719/princeton-concludes-what-kind-of-government-america-really-has-and-it-s-not-a-democracy|retrieved=2022-8-30}}</ref> The richest three Statesians have more money than the poorest 160 million combined.<ref>{{News citation|author=Tom Kertscher|newspaper=PolitiFact|title='The wealthiest three families now own more wealth than the bottom half of the country.'|date=2019-07-03|url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jul/03/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-target-saying-3-richest-have-much-w/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126234218/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jul/03/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-target-saying-3-richest-have-much-w/|archive-date=2022-01-26|retrieved=2022-05-01}}</ref> Public support for the U.S. government is very low, with only 2% of Statesians believing the government almost always does what is right and only 19% believing it mostly does the right thing. 7% of Statesians have confidence in Congress, 23% have confidence in the presidency, and 25% have confidence in the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=[[Ben Norton]]|newspaper=[[Multipolarista]]|title=Polls show almost no one trusts US media, after decades of war propaganda and lies|date=2022-07-30|url=https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/30/trust-us-media-war-propaganda/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806143950/https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/30/trust-us-media-war-propaganda/|archive-date=2022-08-06|retrieved=2022-08-07}}</ref> | |||
The US political system is a ''de facto'' plutocracy, a government entirely controlled by the wealthy.<ref>{{Web citation|author=TOM MCKAY|newspaper=MIC|title=Princeton Concludes What Kind of Government America Really Has, and It's Not a Democracy|date=2016-4-16|url=https://www.mic.com/articles/87719/princeton-concludes-what-kind-of-government-america-really-has-and-it-s-not-a-democracy|retrieved=2022-8-30}}</ref> The richest three Statesians have more money than the poorest 160 million combined.<ref>{{News citation|author=Tom Kertscher|newspaper=PolitiFact|title='The wealthiest three families now own more wealth than the bottom half of the country.'|date=2019-07-03|url=https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jul/03/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-target-saying-3-richest-have-much-w/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220126234218/https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2019/jul/03/bernie-sanders/bernie-sanders-target-saying-3-richest-have-much-w/|archive-date=2022-01-26|retrieved=2022-05-01}}</ref> Public support for the U.S. government is very low, with only 2% of Statesians believing the government almost always does what is right and only 19% believing it mostly does the right thing. 7% of Statesians have confidence in Congress, 23% have confidence in the presidency, and 25% have confidence in the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=[[Ben Norton]]|newspaper=[[Multipolarista]]|title=Polls show almost no one trusts US media, after decades of war propaganda and lies|date=2022-07-30|url=https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/30/trust-us-media-war-propaganda/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220806143950/https://multipolarista.com/2022/07/30/trust-us-media-war-propaganda/|archive-date=2022-08-06|retrieved=2022-08-07 | |||
The US is | The US is a ''de facto'' [[one-party state]],<ref>{{Citation|author=Mark J. Green|year=1982|title=Winning Back America|title-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oa3VExRT2s8C&q=%22Yes,+we+have+one+party+here.+But+so+does+America.+Except,+with+typical+extravagance,+they+have+two+of+them.%22&dq=%22Yes,+we+have+one+party+here.+But+so+does+America.+Except,+with+typical+extravagance,+they+have+two+of+them.%22&hl=es-419&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiI5N6FrafqAhXoHbkGHehvD1UQ6AEwAXoECAAQAg|quote='Yes, we have one party here. But so does America. Except, with typical extravagance, they have two of them!'|publisher=Bantam Books|isbn=9780553226300}}</ref> with aesthetical differences between its two main parties, the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], but both parties follow common policies, especially abroad. The ruling capitalist oligarchy has two factions: the Democratic Party which is center-right<ref>[http://www.thebreezepaper.com/news-blog/2020/12/18/like-it-or-not-the-democratic-party-is-a-right-wing-party Like it or Not, the Democratic Party is a Right-Wing Party]</ref> and is controlled by the monopolistic managerial [[bourgeoisie]] who seeks to maintain the stability of the imperialist system by being less [[reactionary]] on inconsequential social issues, and the Republican Party, which is more reactionary and backwards when it comes to social issues<ref>[https://www.salon.com/2019/07/05/how-did-the-republican-party-become-so-conservative/ How did the Republican Party become so conservative?]</ref> and tends to pander to the [[Petty bourgeoisie|petit bourgeoisie]] in their effort to deepen the exploitation of labor. | ||
The election system further solidifies this duopoly with its "First Past the Post" system, resulting in citizens having to choose "the lesser of two evils." The two political parties stir up public debate around their small disagreements to create a facade of democracy, but bipartisan agreement reigns on questions of foreign policy (imperialism, war, attacking socialist countries) as well as domestic policies such as prioritizing funding for police repression over social programs such as free housing, higher education, healthcare, etc. | The election system further solidifies this duopoly with its "First Past the Post" system, resulting in citizens having to choose "the lesser of two evils." The two political parties stir up public debate around their small disagreements to create a facade of democracy, but bipartisan agreement reigns on questions of foreign policy (imperialism, war, attacking socialist countries) as well as domestic policies such as prioritizing funding for police repression over social programs such as free housing, higher education, healthcare, etc. | ||
Given the presence of campaign donations and lobbying (legalized | Given the presence of campaign donations and lobbying (legalized corruption), the billionaires who buy off politicians to serve their will are sometimes referred to as the "donor class".<ref name="NYT-19980719">{{Web citation|journalist=Bob Herbert|date=1998-07-19|title=The Donor Class|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/19/opinion/in-america-the-donor-class.html|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> | ||
In his autobiographical account of taking on monopolistic corporations as president, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] recounted:<blockquote>…we had come to the stage where for our people what was needed was a real democracy; and of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy.<ref>{{Web citation|title=Roosevelt, Theodore. 1913. An Autobiography: XII. The Big Stick and the Square Deal|url=http://www.bartleby.com/55/12.html}}</ref></blockquote>Despite various anti-monopoly countermeasures (anti-trust legislation, etc.) the underlying system of capitalism and the desire to accumulate more surplus value and increase profitability continues to result in monopolistic formations within the US economy. These monopolies are more powerful than the public state apparatus, and by most approximations can be considered the same object. According to fascist dictator [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], the merging of corporate power and state power is the definition of fascism.<ref>"Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." --Benito Mussolini. (from Encyclopedia Italiana, Giovanni Gentile, editor)</ref> | In his autobiographical account of taking on monopolistic corporations as president, President [[Theodore Roosevelt]] recounted:<blockquote>…we had come to the stage where for our people what was needed was a real democracy; and of all forms of tyranny the least attractive and the most vulgar is the tyranny of mere wealth, the tyranny of a plutocracy.<ref>{{Web citation|title=Roosevelt, Theodore. 1913. An Autobiography: XII. The Big Stick and the Square Deal|url=http://www.bartleby.com/55/12.html}}</ref></blockquote>Despite various anti-monopoly countermeasures (anti-trust legislation, etc.) the underlying system of capitalism and the desire to accumulate more surplus value and increase profitability continues to result in monopolistic formations within the US economy. These monopolies are more powerful than the public state apparatus, and by most approximations can be considered the same object. According to fascist dictator [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], the merging of corporate power and state power is the definition of fascism.<ref>"Fascism should more appropriately be called corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power." --Benito Mussolini. (from Encyclopedia Italiana, Giovanni Gentile, editor)</ref> | ||
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===Foreign aid and human rights=== | ===Foreign aid and human rights=== | ||
To begin with, the US has a horrific foreign aid record. It seems that American aid is quite a good predictor of human rights abuses, and that this trend goes back decades; according to a 1981 study in the journal ''Comparative Politics,'' US aid is “clearly distributed disproportionately to countries with repressive governments… this distribution represented a pattern and not merely one or a few isolated cases.” Indeed, it is quite easy to find examples of the United States supporting vicious repressive regimes (such as [[Pinochet]]'s Chile, the Shah of Iran, and the military junta of [[El Salvador]]). | |||
Similarly, a 1984 study in the ''Journal of Peace Research'' looked at human rights and US aid under Nixon, Ford, and Carter. The authors found that “under Presidents Nixon and Ford foreign assistance was directly related to levels of human rights violations, i.e. more aid flowed to regimes with higher levels of violation, while under President Carter no clear statistical pattern emerged.” They therefore conclude that “the Carter administration did not implement a policy of human rights which actually guided the disposition of military and economic assistance.” In other words, the US attitude towards human rights seems to vary from outright hostility (under more conservative administrations) to mere indifference (under more liberal ones). | Similarly, a 1984 study in the ''Journal of Peace Research'' looked at human rights and US aid under Nixon, Ford, and Carter. The authors found that “under Presidents Nixon and Ford foreign assistance was directly related to levels of human rights violations, i.e. more aid flowed to regimes with higher levels of violation, while under President Carter no clear statistical pattern emerged.” They therefore conclude that “the Carter administration did not implement a policy of human rights which actually guided the disposition of military and economic assistance.” In other words, the US attitude towards human rights seems to vary from outright hostility (under more conservative administrations) to mere indifference (under more liberal ones). | ||
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While it must be noted that the United States did not personally kill all of the millions of people mentioned above, it still bears a heavy burden for these deaths, having initiated the invasions, and started the entire conflict. In the same way that we hold Hitler responsible for the deaths of WWII (since he was the one who started it), so too should we hold the United States responsible for the deaths listed above. For more information on the civilian cost of US intervention, I recommend ''The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars'', a study authored by John Tirman, director of the MIT Center for International Studies. | While it must be noted that the United States did not personally kill all of the millions of people mentioned above, it still bears a heavy burden for these deaths, having initiated the invasions, and started the entire conflict. In the same way that we hold Hitler responsible for the deaths of WWII (since he was the one who started it), so too should we hold the United States responsible for the deaths listed above. For more information on the civilian cost of US intervention, I recommend ''The Deaths of Others: The Fate of Civilians in America's Wars'', a study authored by John Tirman, director of the MIT Center for International Studies. | ||
=== | ===Coups and regime change=== | ||
The United States has a long history of overthrowing governments it doesn't like, typically then replacing them with brutal dictatorships. There are many, ''many'' examples of this, ranging from Jacobo Arbenz in [[Republic of Guatemala|Guatemala]], to Mohammad Mosaddegh in [[Iran]] (a coup for which the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] actually admitted responsibility in 2013). | The United States has a long history of overthrowing governments it doesn't like, typically then replacing them with brutal dictatorships. There are many, ''many'' examples of this, ranging from Jacobo Arbenz in [[Republic of Guatemala|Guatemala]], to Mohammad Mosaddegh in [[Iran]] (a coup for which the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] actually admitted responsibility in 2013). | ||
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*[[:Category:USA states|USA states (category)]] | *[[:Category:USA states|USA states (category)]] | ||
==References== | |||
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== References == | |||
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==Notes== | ==Notes== |